Crimson Debt

  Immediately my heart began to pound.

  “What…what are you doing?” I muttered, looking down at my small hands clasped gently but firmly in his much larger ones.

  “I am trying to apologize. To “make up” as you humans say.” He ducked his head slightly to look in my eyes. “I am sorry I asked you to leave last night, Addison. I was feeling…” He shook his head and gave a rueful laugh. “Well, what does it matter how I felt? The point is, I felt. Do you know how long it has been since I have had true, genuine emotions for another person?”

  “Vampires don’t feel?” I shook my head. “But Taylor—”

  “Is still much more human than vampire in many ways and so her emotions are much closer to the surface. But a vampire can, if he or she wishes, bury their emotions to the point of almost not having them at all.” He looked at me seriously. “Mine were buried for centuries…until I met you.”

  “But…why me?” I asked, shaking my head. “Is it just because I look like Janet?”

  “You don’t, except for your hair. No, it was your attitude. Your fierce temper and your refusal to be afraid of me.”

  “I’m an Auditor,” I pointed out. “That’s my job.”

  “And yet you are the first who wasn’t afraid to do that job. Do you remember the first moment we met? I do.” Corbin laughed softly. “The first time you ever inspected me. You were looking for problems at the Fang and couldn’t find any. So you demanded to see my liquor license and when you found it to be two days out of date, you gave me the highest fine possible and tried to shut me down.”

  “I remember,” I grumbled. “I still don’t know how you got out of that one.”

  “Not without considerable trouble and expense.” Corbin smiled. “Any other Auditor might have given up but not you—you were determined to make me pay.”

  “I want them all to pay,” I whispered, looking down. “To pay for what happened to Taylor.”

  “But I am one of them,” Corbin said softly. “And unless I am very much mistaken, you no longer hate me quite as much as you did.”

  “Maybe not,” I said, looking up at him. “But that doesn’t change what we are. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a vamp and I’m human.”

  “I could bind you to me with blood,” Corbin murmured. “It would make you more durable. Love between us would be much less risky.”

  “But still completely illegal. And it would tie us together forever and make me practically immortal,” I pointed out with a frown.

  Predictably, Corbin shrugged off the illegal part.

  “What is wrong with being immortal?”

  “Nothing except you have to watch your entire family get older and older and die all around you,” I said. “And what do I tell people at work when they ask why I’m not aging? My superiors will know right away what’s going on—fraternizing with the enemy will get you kicked off the force. I might as well hand in my badge right now if I let you bind me to you.”

  “What was it you did before you decided to harass my kind for a living?” Corbin asked. “I thought you said you were getting a degree in some kind of literature.”

  “I was.” I looked away. “I never did finish my dissertation, though.”

  “Finish it then,” he urged gently. “Give up your grudge against vampires and go back to doing what you truly love. You can’t tell me you really enjoy the endless inspections, the gory crime scenes, the executions…”

  To tell the truth, I didn’t enjoy any of it. In fact, lately I just about loathed it but I wasn’t about to admit that to Corbin.

  “So, what—I’m supposed to give up my job to become your good little wife?” I demanded, pulling my hands out of his. “You’ll put me up in a sweet penthouse somewhere in the city and visit me whenever you want to fuck?”

  Corbin frowned. “You know it would not be like that, Addison. You could live with me—or I with you. Provided you don’t mind me making some modifications to your house. I must have a light-tight place to stay during the daylight hours.”

  For one crazy moment, I actually let myself consider it. There was no denying that there was something between us. But was that electric spark I felt every time he touched me enough to give up my job, my family…basically my entire life? Also, I had spent the past six years upholding the laws that separated vamps and humans in the most basic and vital way. Was I really going to throw all that time in the toilet and jump the fence? Was I willing to live with Corbin and take the chance every single time we made love that he wouldn’t lose control and kill me? After all the horrible, gory crime scenes I had been witness to?

  Was I crazy?

  “No,” I said at last with a sigh. “No, I’m sorry, Corbin. I’ll admit there’s something between us. We have…really good chemistry. But I can’t give up my life and everything it stands for just to be with you.”

  “And this is your final decision?” He looked at me, his silver-blue eyes serious and infinitely sad. “Think, Addison…really consider before you refuse to give me your heart. A love like this doesn’t happen very often—for me it has happened only twice in four hundred years. I lost my first love—I don’t intend to lose you.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, forcing the words out around the lump that had somehow formed in my throat. “But I can’t. Please…just let me go.”

  “I will, for now.” He stroked a strand of hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear in a gesture of tenderness that made my eyes sting. “But I refuse to give up. I love you, Addison. If you’ll only give me a chance, I will prove it.”

  “Prove what? My, my—do excuse me. I hope I haven’t interrupted a tender scene.”

  We both turned to see Roderick standing in the doorway, smirking.

  Asshole, I thought, looking at him. I reached automatically to my side and then remembered I didn’t have my gun with me that night—Corbin had insisted that I leave it in his private bathroom after the incident the night before. Considering how badly I wanted to shoot the vampire Inquisitor, it was probably a good thing.

  “Ah, Roderick.” Corbin inclined his head to the other vamp. “How good of you to join us. I trust Lucinda was satisfactory?”

  “She was…until I accidentally broke her.” Roderick said it in such an offhand way it took a minute to sink in.

  Corbin’s face darkened. “What exactly do you mean?”

  Roderick shrugged. “She was paying the Crimson Debt and I got rather…carried away. You’ll find her in the dumpster out behind your establishment—what’s left of her, anyway.”

  I stared at him, uncomprehending. I had plenty of experience with vamps who S and F-ed their human lovers to death but I had never heard of one vampire doing it to another. Considering how strong they all were, even the fledglings, it must have taken unimaginable strength to kill the hapless Lucinda. The poor girl must have been ripped limb from limb and probably decapitated as well.

  “That’s horrible,” I whispered.

  “It is despicable.” Corbin took a step toward the other vampire, his face white with rage. “How dare you kill one of my people? Especially one who simply wanted to entertain and service you?”

  “Oh, she did both before she met the true death—never fear about that.” Roderick laughed, a very ugly sound. “She served her purpose and I disposed of her—just as I will dispose of you, Corbin, if you displease me.”

  “Lucinda had only one star to her credit—I have four. I think you will find me considerably more difficult to kill,” Corbin growled. “I challenge you, Roderick—you will pay for what you’ve done.”

  Roderick’s eyes gleamed greedily. “By all means, please do make a formal challenge. I will be happy to annex your little territory when you are gone. And I will take Taylor and your human consort with me to court. The Empress will love that—you can imagine how popular human Auditors who attempt to control our kind are with her.”

  Corbin’s eyes blazed. “How dare you threaten my consort?”

  “You
mean the one not actually bound to you? The one who is technically still available to any male strong enough to take her?” Roderick turned his greedy gaze on me and showed his fangs. I felt my stomach turn over. Oh God, was he serious?

  “You will never have her.” Corbin put me behind him and seemed to grow larger. “Listen to me, Roderick, you may be strong enough to best me but if you attempt to take her, I will not hesitate to sacrifice for your death!”

  “You would do that—for a mere human?” Roderick shook his head. “That is most surprising, Corbin.”

  “Nevertheless it is true,” Corbin growled. “Try me if you don’t believe I’m sincere.”

  “No, no, that won’t be necessary.” Abruptly, Roderick retracted his fangs and went from menacing to mild. “I refuse your challenge, Corbin. I think we have had enough bloodshed for one night.”

  “Is that what you think?” Corbin asked angrily. “Now that you have had your fill of bloodletting you wish to go back to your inspection?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Roderick shook his head. “I grow tired of this stupid little town. Simply show me the tribute you have prepared and we will call it a night, as the humans say.”

  I held my breath, waiting to see if Corbin would take the offer. He was still clearly very angry over Lucinda’s brutal murder but I knew that under vampire law, there was nothing he could do about it. Vamps are like lions on a savanna—the strong take from the weak. He could, of course, renew his challenge but if Roderick took him up on it this time and killed him, everything Corbin had and all the people who depended on him would belong to the Inquisitor.

  I tried to look at Corbin objectively. Could he take Roderick in a fight? He was incredibly strong and fast but the other vamp had two centuries on him, which made him stronger and faster. I had the sense that Corbin would have fought him anyway—even if it meant certain death—if no one else had been involved. But the idea of everyone he cared for being handed over to Roderick to torment and torture like a cruel cat playing with mice deterred him.

  “Corbin?” I murmured after a long silence.

  He sighed and looked back at me. I saw that his eyes had gone from silvery-blue to blood red. “I wish you were not here, my darling,” he murmured in a low, hoarse voice. “I wish you were somewhere far away and safe. But since you are not…”

  “Corbin? The tribute, please.” Roderick sounded bored. “I do not have all night.”

  Corbin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Gradually his eyes went from deep red back to their usual silver-blue.

  “All right,” he said at last. “I’ll get it.”

  Removing a key from the upper right drawer, he used it to unlock a small closet to one side of his bookcase.

  “Behold,” he said, bringing out a delicate porcelain vase with a wide bottom and a long, narrow opening. It was creamy white with a deep blue Chinese dragon curling around it and flowers of the same color dotting its sides.

  I gazed at it in wonder. “Is that…?”

  “A vase from the late Ming Dynasty,” Corbin said. He placed it carefully on his desk and looked at Roderick. “It was both expensive and difficult to acquire—I trust it meets your expectations as a tribute,” he said flatly.

  “Nice. Very nice.” Roderick came forward and examined the vase carefully. “You know my passion for beautiful things, Corbin.”

  “And for breaking them, apparently,” I murmured but Corbin gave me a warning glance and I shut up. Somehow I sensed we were still in dangerous territory here. No matter how meek and mild Roderick was acting, he still had something up his sleeve.

  “Well,” he said, smiling at both of us. “I guess I’ll be going now. Oh, except for one last thing.”

  “And what might that thing be, Roderick?” Corbin growled.

  “A small detail only—a tiny request I’m certain you won’t mind granting your royal Inquisitor.” Roderick’s eyes gleamed. “I simply wish to see a demonstration of your skill.”

  “What skill?” Corbin folded his arms over his broad chest and frowned.

  “The one you boast of so often, of course. Your ability to fuck your human consort without breaking her—as I so regrettably broke the lovely Lucinda.”

  “What?” I exclaimed before I could stop myself. “You’re demanding to watch us—”

  “Fuck. That’s right, my dear.” Roderick smiled coldly. “And before you refuse, Corbin, please know that I am ready to take you up on your offer of a formal challenge if you prefer.”

  “Neither my consort nor myself are whores,” Corbin said coldly. “We do not perform for an audience.”

  “You will tonight.” Roderick showed his fangs. “If you do not prove to me that you have been telling the truth, that this human woman truly is attached to you as your consort, then I will be forced to think everything you have said to me is a lie. At that point I will either kill you in challenge and take her back to court to serve as the Empress’s plaything…or I will go and return with a full retinue of her majesty’s private guards.”

  “You wouldn’t!” Corbin growled.

  “Oh, but I would. And then everything you have built will be burned to the ground. Everyone you ever cared for, every underling both human or vampire who depends on you, will be taken. And I will not be gentle with them, Corbin. I promise you that.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Corbin said thickly. “You may kill me in challenge but I swear I will take you with me. I will—”

  “We’ll do it,” I heard myself saying.

  Corbin turned to me, a look of disbelief in his eyes. “Addison, no! You don’t have to agree to this.”

  “Yes, I do,” I said grimly. “I don’t want you in a fight to the death over my honor. And I don’t want Taylor and everyone else who depends on you getting dragged off as slaves to wherever the court is just because I’m afraid to…to be seen doing, uh, doing what we do.”

  “But—”

  “You seem to be at odds with each other,” Roderick remarked. “And all over my simple request that you prove she truly is your consort, Corbin.”

  “I said we’ll do it,” I said, glaring at the Inquisitor. “We just need a little time to prepare.”

  “Very well.” Roderick nodded. “I will be happy to step outside for a few minutes. But don’t take too long or I may decide to break someone else.” He gave Corbin an evil grin and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him.

  When the Inquisitor was gone, Corbin let out a breath and looked at me for a long time.

  “Addison,” he said at last, very quietly. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” I nodded, hoping he couldn’t hear how hard my heart was pounding. “I’ve trusted you twice and gotten away with it, Corbin. Here’s hoping that three is my lucky number.”

  “I won’t hurt you,” he promised fiercely. “I swear it, darling.” He started to take me in his arms but I stepped back.

  “There’s something you should know, though,” I said, holding out a hand to stop him. “This doesn’t change anything between us. This will be the one and only time we do this and afterward, we’re still going our separate ways, just like we agreed. I can’t give up my life for you, Corbin—I can’t.”

  His eyes hardened. “I see. So you’re only doing this from a sense of obligation…of duty.”

  “I’m doing it to save all our lives,” I said evenly. “I just don’t want there to be any misunderstanding about it. I’m sorry, Corbin. I can give you my body, but not my heart.”

  He sighed. “My darling, it was your heart I wanted all along. But I guess I am never to have it.”

  “No,” I whispered, my throat suddenly tight. “No, I’m afraid not.”

  “Very well.” He nodded. “Then perhaps you would prefer to keep this little…encounter impersonal.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I mean I can take you from behind.” He stroked my cheek and my breath suddenly seemed to come short. “That way you don’t have to l
ook me in the eyes as I fill your sweet pussy.”

  “Oh…” I whispered, overcome with a strange combination of lust and regret. “Yes, I…I guess that would be all right.”

  Corbin nodded. “Well then…” He went to his desk and picked up the phone.

  “What are you doing? Who are you calling?” I asked.

  He looked up. “I’m going to get one of the human barmaids in here. I need to satiate my thirst for blood before I take you, Addison. I want this encounter between us to be as safe as possible.”

  “Wait,” I said, before he could hit the buttons. “Wait, I…”

  Corbin frowned and lowered the phone. “Have you changed your mind? If so then I must prepare to fight.”

  “No, nothing like that. I just…” I bit my lip. “I just…I don’t like the idea of you, uh, drinking from anyone but me. Especially not when we’re about to, uh, have sex.”

  “Make love,” Corbin corrected me gently. We looked at each other for a long moment and then he nodded. “Very well. It’s a good idea, actually—biting you will get your body ready to receive me.”

  I remembered the whipcrack orgasm that had gone through me when he bit my thigh and shivered.

  “Why is that, exactly? How can you make it feel so good?”

  “Part of it is the fact that I am injecting you with my essence when I bite,” Corbin murmured. He put down the phone and came around the desk to stand in front of me. “And part of it is simply the way your body reacts to mine. You want me, Addison—almost as badly as I want you.”

  “Yes, all right,” I whispered, reaching up to put my arms around his neck. “I guess I can admit that. I shouldn’t but I do—I want you, Corbin. I want this.”

  “I want it too,” he murmured. “Will you bare your neck for me, darling?”

  I pushed my hair out of the way and tilted my chin to the side, offering him my vein. We were in a hurry and I was sure he would simply drive his long, sharp fangs right into my tender flesh. Instead, he kissed me.

  “Oh…” I almost moaned when I felt his mouth, gentle and insistent against the sensitive skin of my throat.